Cath
by kissables333
Summary: Song-fic. Death Cab for Cutie.


Song Credit - Cath... by Death Cab for Cutie

* * *

The invitation arrived with the post, carried by a white owl that shined in the sunlight. He counted down the weeks, the days, and the minutes until the moment arrived. He tagged along with Hermione and Ron to the affair, all the while acutely aware of the pain that this would bring.

They entered the large church; only he knew she'd much rather be on the beach. She had wanted a simple wedding; nothing extravagant. She hated extravagance. He knew that better than anyone. Sitting in the pew, his leg danced anxiously for what he knew would be their final chance to be happy.

The music began and everyone stood to face the blushing bride as she traversed down the aisle. His eyes never left hers, but she didn't look his way. They stood before the preacher and said their vows; her voice trembled and brimmed with tears as she slid the ring onto his finger.

The preacher declared them man and wife; they kissed as his heart shattered and reverberated with an end that provided no closure.

The couple turned and faced their audience of spectators—all of the people who had played witness to her charade.

**Cath . . .**

**She stands with a well intentioned man  
But she can't relax with his hands on the small of her back  
As the flashbulbs burst she holds a smile  
Like someone would hold a crying child  
**

His arm was wrapped securely around her waist as they smiled at their audience. And Harry saw how her smile faltered; he saw the lies in her eyes. He knew she did not want to be there.

But she smiled still; she held the grin on her face out of pretense. She should be happy. But she was not and so she pretended, putting a mask on to prolong her façade. Perhaps, if she pretended for long enough she'll believe it herself.

**Soon everybody will ask what became of you  
Your heart was dying fast and you didn't know what to do  
**  
He recalled his conversation with Neville only a few days before.

The old friend had asked after her for he never saw her around any more. He never saw her with Harry anymore.

Harry had muttered a reply about how she was engaged to be married. About how he let her slip away.

He remembered clearly when she walked away. With tears in her eyes, she had told him she was sorry. She had apologized and told him that she wished she could love him. And then she left him.

**Cath...  
It seems that you're livin' someone else's dream  
In a hand-me-down wedding dress  
With the things that could have been are repressed  
**

He was a man anyone would love. He was charming and funny, and rich. He was perfect but she longed for Harry's flaws. She longed for the faults that made him up—the faults that _he_ did not have. She loved Harry but knew she would only hurt him in the end.

She stared at herself in the mirror, seeing how the white dress hugged her every curve and held within her everything she wished she could have said.

**But you said your vows and you closed the door  
On so many men who would have loved you more**

But it was too late to go back now. She let him go and walked down the aisle. She knew Harry was there. He was the first one she'd looked for. His eyes were on her the entire time she walked down the aisle but she knew that if she looked at him she would burst into tears.

And so she did the only thing she could. She let Harry go. She kissed her husband and abolished all hope of ever being happy.

**Soon everybody will ask what became of you  
Your heart was dying fast and you didn't know what to do  
**

Ron and Hermione hadn't understood. They didn't know why Cath had suddenly left them. They didn't understand. But Harry knew.

He understood that she couldn't find it within herself to love him. She had been hurt so many times before that she couldn't risk her heart on him. She decided to settle for someone she didn't love so that she would never get hurt.

**The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews  
And if our hearts were dying that fast, they would have done the same as you**

Ron and Hermione tried to comfort him; they tried to insist that the marriage wouldn't last. They said she loved him more than she could love anyone else. But Harry knew.

He knew she couldn't take anymore pain—he knew she couldn't take another broken heart.

**I'd have done the same as you**


End file.
